Three-wheeled velocipede



March 28, 1967 J. w. RYAN ETAL 3,311,388

THREE -WHEELED VELOCIPEDE 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 12, 1965 March28, 1967 J. w. RYAN ETAL THREE-WHEELED VELOCIPEDE 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledApril 12, 1965 jig 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 J- W- RYAN ETAL THREE-WHEELEDVELOCIPEDE March 28, 1967 Filed April 12, 1965 March 28, 1967 J. w.R-YAN IQETAL 3,311,388

THREE WHEELED VELOC IPEDE Filed April 12, 1965 7 Sheets-Sheet 4yffdi/Vifif March 28, 1967 .1. w. RYAN ETAL 3,311,388

THREE-WHEELED VELOCIPEDE Filed April 12, 1965 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 @QX WWMarch 28, 1967 w, Y ETAL 3,311,388

THREE WHEELED VELOC IPEDE March 28, 1967 J. W. RYAN ETAL THREE-WHEELEDVELOCIPEDE '7 Sheets-Sheet '7 Filed April 12, 1965 cit-r xfrzwwna UnitedStates Patent 6 3,311,383 TfiREE-WHEELED VELOCIPEDE John W. Ryan, BelAir, and Robert A. MacMeelrin, Huntington Beach, Calif., assignors toMattel, Inc., Hawthorne, Califl, a corporation of California Filed Apr.12, 1965, Ser. No. 447,208 14 Claims. (Cl. zsa-ass The present inventionrelates to a toy vehicle and more particularly to a new and useful toyvehicle having steerable wheel means, means for steering the wheel meansand means for biasing the steering means to a central position whereinthe vehicle is steered straight ahead.

Many types of prior art toy vehicle are known. They usually take theform of velocipedes so that they can be propelled by the feet. With onetype of prior art velocipede now in general use, the pedaling andsteering are both effected through a single front wheel with a pair ofrear wheels being rotatably mounted in rigid, parallel relation at alltimes. While generally satisfactory, this type of velocipede does haveseveral disadvantages.

One disadvantage resides in the fact that the pivotal mounting of thefront wheel interferes with the pedaling of the velocipede because thefront wheel must be turned at a sharp angle when making a turn.

Another disadvantage resides in the fact that the handle bars, beingsecured to the front wheel, turn to an objectionable position when thefront wheel is turned to execute a turn or negotiate a corner.

Yet another disadvantage resides in the fact that such velocipedes havea high center of gravity which makes them difficult to handle duringturning maneuvers.

In an effort to overcome some of the foregoing disadvantages, otherprior art velocipedes have been provided with three-wheels wherein thefront wheel is used for pedaling only and the steering is effected by aturning of the rear wheels. While generally satisfactory in overcomingsome of the foregoing disadvantages, this arrangement introduced thedisadvantage that, once a turning maneuver was undertaken, it wasdiflicult to return the steering means to a central position wherein thevelocipede was again steered on a straight course.

In view of the foregoing factors and conditions characteristic of toyvehicles, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide anew and useful toy vehicle not subject to the disadvantages enumeratedabove and having steerable rear wheels, means for steering the rearwheels and means for biasing the steering means to a central position.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a toy vehicle ofthe type described which simulates an aircraft in banking and turningmaneuvers Yet another object of the present invention is to provide athree wheeled velocipede wherein the front wheel is used for pedalingonly and the steering is effected by turning of the rear wheels in sucha manner that the velocipede is banked during a turn.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a velocipede ofthe three wheeled type wherein the front wheel is used for pedaling onlywhile the steering is effected by turning of the rear wheels with thefront wheel being connected to the steering mechanism in such a mannerthat the front wheel leans in the direction of a turn.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a vehicleof the type described having steerable rear wheels which are actuatedthrough a compound linkage mechanism in such a manner that the insidewheel pivots during a turn through approximately 55 degrees while theoutside wheel is pivoting only through about 40 degrees.

3,3 l 1,338 Patented Mar. 28, 1967 A still further object of the presentinvention is to provide a vehicle of the type described which isconstructed in such a manner that the center of gravity of a rider ofthe vehicle is raised when the steering means for the vehicle is movedaway from a central position, whereby the weight of the rider biases thesteering means back to the central position.

Another object of the present invention is to attach the seat of avehicle of the type described to a cam face which co-acts with a camupon rotation thereof through the vehicles steering mechanism to causethe seat of the vehicle to be raised when the steering mechanism ismoved away from a central position so that the center of gravity of arider of the vehicle will also be raised, thereby biasing the steeringmechanism back to the central position.

Yet another object of the present invention is to. provide a threewheeled velocipede having steerable rear wheels with a pedal-actuatedfront wheel which tilts in the direction of a turn in response to asteering action causing the rear wheels to follow a path of compoundpivotal movement.

According to a first embodiment of the present invention, a toy vehicleis provided in the form of a threewheeled vel-ocipede having steerablerear wheels and a pedal-actuated front wheel which are connected to asteering control means in such a manner that the front wheel is causedto lean in the direction of a turn during turning movements but isprevented from turning.

The vehicle includes a front fork which carries a pedaldriven Wheel. Thefork includes a shank which is nonrot-atably mounted in a first tubularmember which, in turn, is rigidly affixed to a tubular rear axle,thereby forming a T-shaped, tubular frame.

A second tubular member is rotatably mounted on the first tubular memberfor rotation by a steering control lever which is rigidly afiixed to theforward end of the second tubular member. A bracket depends from theunderside of the rear end of the second tubular member and steers therear wheels through a tie-rod and a compound linkage system connectingthe rear wheels of the vehicle to the rear axle.

During steering maneuvers, the compound linkage system causes one rearwheel to swing forwardly and upwardly while the other rear wheel isswinging rearwardly and downwardly. This not only causes the rear axleto tilt and bank the vehicle into a turn, but also raises the center ofgravity of a rider of the vehicle so that the steering mechanism isbiased to a central position. Since the front fork is rigidly connectedto the rear axle, tilting of the axle causes the front wheel also totilt in the direction of the turn. In addition, the seat of the vehicleis rigidly affixed to the first tubular member so that the seat willalso tilt when the rear axle tilts. Biasing the steering mechanism to acentral position is an important feature of the invention because theweight of the child opera-ting the vehicle minimizes the force requiredto return the steering lever to a central position following a turningmaneuver.

According to a second embodiment of the present inventiou, a toy vehicleis provided in the form of a three wheeled velocipede having a frontfork which carries a pedal-driven wheel. The front fork is rigidlyaflixed to a frame member in such a manner that the wheel cannot beturned. The rear Wheels are rotatably mounted on an axle member which ispivotally connected to the vehicle frame by an oblique pin in such amanner that turning of the vehicle by swinging the rear axle also tiltsthe axle. The seat for the vehicle carries a cam follower which coactswith a cam. The cam is connected to the rear axle in such a manner thatthe cam swings in an arcuate path when the rear axle is swung by alinkage system which is connected to a swingable steering lever. The camfollowor is shaped in such a manner that the cam causes the vehicle seatto be raised when the steering lever is moved away from its centralposition. Thus, the center of gravity of a rider is raised to bias thesteering lever to its central position.

A third embodiment of the present invention is similar to the firstembodiment except that the tubular members are replaced with aone-piece, stamped-metal construction.

The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel areset forth with particularity in the appended claims. The presentinvention, both as to its organization and manner of operation, togetherwith further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood byreference to the following description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to likeelements in the several views.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a toy vehicle comprising a firstembodiment of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the vehicle of FIGURE 1with parts broken away to show internal construction;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged, rear, elevational view of the vehicle of FIGURE1 showing the relative position of its steering and compound linkagemechanism when the vehicle is traveling along a straight course;

FIGURE 4- is a rear elevational view similar to FIG- URE 3 showing therelative position of the steering and compound linkage mechanism duringthe execution of a turning maneuver;

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view of the vehicle of FIGURE 1 takenalong line 5-5 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 6 is a side elevational view, with parts broken away to showinternal construction, of a toy vehicle comprising a second embodimentof the present invention;

FIGURE 7 is a bottom view of the vehicle of FIG- URE 6;

FIGURE 8 is a rear view of the vehicle of FIGURE 6 with parts brokenaway to show internal construction;

FIGURE 9 is a rear view of the vehicle of FIGURE 6 showing therelationship of certain parts thereof during a turning maneuver;

FIGURE 10 is a perspective view of a toy vehicle constituting a thirdembodiment of the present invention;

FIGURE 11 is a rear elevational view of the vehicle of FIGURE 10;

FIGURE 12 is an enlarged bottom view of the vehicle of FIGURE 10;

FIGURE 13 is an enlarged elevation view, with parts broken away to showinternal consrtuction, of the vehicle of FIGURE 10;

FIGURE 14 is an enlarged plan view of the vehicle of FIGURE 10 with itsseat removed;

FIGURE 15 is an enlarged elevational view similar to FIGURE 13, withadditional parts broken away to show internal construction;

FIGURE 16 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line 16-16 ofFIGURE 15.

FIGURE l7 is an enlarged, partial cross-sectional view taken along line17-17 of FIGURE 15;

FIGURE 18 is a perspective view of the rear portion of the vehicle ofFIGURE l;'and

FIGURE 19 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the difference between thelocation of the center of gravity of a rider of the vehicle of thepresent invention and a rider of prior art vehicles during turningmaneuvers.

Referring again to the drawings, and particularly to FIGURES 1-5, a toyvehicle constituting a first embodiment of the present invention,generally designated 10, includes a chassis 12 and a body 14. Thechassis 12 comprises a front wheel assembly 16, a rear wheel assembly 18and a steering mechanism 20. The front wheel assembly 16 includes apedal driven wheel 22 which is rotatably mounted between the arms 24 ofa front fork assembly 26 on a crank assembly 23. The crank assembly 28propels the vehicle 10 by rotating the wheel 22 when oppositely disposedcrank arms 35 and 32 are actuated through the medium of rotatablymounted pedals 34 and 36, respectively.

The front fork assembly 26 includes a shank member 38 which isnon-rotatably mounted inside a first tubular member 43 by bolts 42. Thebolts 42 transmit torque from the first tubular member 4-0 to the frontfork assembly 26. One end 44 of the tubular member 40 is bifurcated sothat it will straddle a rear axle assembly 46 constituting a componentof the rear wheel assembly 13. The end 44- is rigidly affixed to therear axle 46 by Weldments 48 so that any tilting of the axle 46 willimpart a torque to the tubular member 40. It is to be noted that thefork assembly 26 is horizontally mounted as distinguished from someprior art toy vehicle wherein the front fork assembly is verticallydisposed. It is to be further noted that the shank 38 constitutes themajor, horizontal axis of the chassis assembly 12.

The body assembly 14 is rigidly affixed to the first tubular member 40by a suitable clamp 50 which encompasses the tubular member 41) and istightly clamped thereto by bolts 52. The body assembly 14 includes abucket-type seat 52 having a bottom wall 54 which is secured to thebracket 59 by bolts 56. The seat 52 includes a back rest 58 formed byangularly disposed mem here 6%) and 62 having lower edge portions 64 and66, respectively, to which arm rests 6S and 70, respectively areattached. The bottom wall 54 of seat 52 extends rear- Wardly beyond theback rest 58 to form a support for a simulated aircraft tail assembly 74which includes a vertical member 76 and substantially horizontal members78. The members 78 extend over the wheels $0 and 81 on the rear wheelassembly 18 to protect the rider of the vehicle 10 from mud or the likewhich may be picked up by the wheels and 81. The body assembly 14 alsoincludes a seat belt 82 which may be secured to the seat 52 between thelower edges 84 of the arm rests 68 and 70 and the bottom wall 54.

The steering mechanism 20 includes a second tubular member 86 whichencompasses the first tubular member 49 between the bolts 42 and thebracket 50 in such a manner that the second tubular member 86 may berotated on the first tubular member 40 without substantial linearmovement along the major axis of the chassis 12. The second tubularmember 86 may be rotated by a rider of the vehicle 14) by a lever 88which is rigidly affixed to the member 86 by a Suitable weldment 90. Thesteering mechanism 2t also includes a depending rod 92 having one end 94rigidly affixed to the second tubular member 86 by a weldment 96 and itsother end 98 rigidly aitixed to a triangular plate 100. The triangularplate 100 includes a pair of apertures 1192 which receive the hookedends 104 of a pair of tie-rods 106 and 108 connecting the steeringmechanism 20 to the rear wheel assembly 18.

The rear wheel assembly 18 includes a first oblique king pin housing 110which is attached to one end 112 of axle 46 and a second oblique kingpin housing 114 which is attached to the other end 116 of the axle 46.The rear wheel assembly 18 also includes a first king pin assembly 118which is rotatably mounted in the first housing 110 and which has aplate 120 afiixed to its upper end 122. A second king pin 124 isrotatably mounted in the second housing 114 and has a second plate 126aifixed to its upper end 128. The lower ends 130 of the king pins 118and 124 are rigidly afiixed, as by a weldment 132 shown for the king pin124- in FIGURE 2, to substantially U-shaped arms 134 and 136,respectively. One end 138 of each arm 134-136 includes a suitablespindle, such as the one shown at 140 in FIGURE 2 for the arm 136, uponwhich the wheels 80 and 81 are rotatably mounted. A first strut 142 hasone end 144 afiixed at the end 138 of arm 134 by a bolt 146 and itsother end 148 afiixed by a bolt 150 to the plate 120. A second strut 152has its first end 154 afiixed by a bolt 156 to the end 138 of the arm136 and its other end 158 afiixed by a bolt 160 to the plate 126. Theplates 120 and 126 each include a cut-out sector 162 formingspaced-apart stop members 164 and 166 which are adapted to engage anassociated stop member 168 mounted on the axle 46. The other ends 170 ofthe arms 134 and 136 are provided with apertures 172 which are engagedby L-shaped ends 174 on the tie-rods 108 and 106, respectively, toconnect the steering mechanism 20 to the rear wheel assembly 18, therebyforming a compound linkage system therewith which is designatedgenerally herein by the reference numeral 176.

The vehicle banks during a turn in such a manner that the rear axle 46is tilted, as shown in FIGURE 4 for a left hand turn. This causes thefront wheel 22 to lean in the direction of the turn as also shown inFIGURE 4. The axle 46 is caused to tilt approximately 10 from thehorizontal by the arrangement of the compound linkage system 176 whichcauses one rear wheel to swing forwardly while the other rear wheelswings rearwardly and downwardly. This causes the center-of-gravity of arider of the vehicle to rise about Ar of an inch to bias the steeringmechanism to a neutral or central position for steering a straightcourse. This result is accomplished, in part, by connecting the housings110 and 114 to the axle 46 in such a manner that the major axes A--A ofthe king pins 118 and 124 form angles of about 19 on two planes (i.e.,when viewed both from the rear and from one side) with a vertical lineBB passing through the lower ends 130 of the king pins. This obliquepositioning of the king pins 118 and 124 combined with the U-shapednature of the arms 134 and 136 causes the inner wheel to turnapproximately 55 degrees while the outer wheel is turning only about 40degrees during the negotiation of a corner. 10 is negotiating a lefthand turn, as shown in FIGURE 4, the wheel 81 will turn approximately 55degrees while the wheel 80 is turning approximately 40 degrees. Inaddition, the wheel 81 leans in the direction of the turn approximately2 degrees while the wheel 180 leans approximately 7 degrees. The end 116of the axle 46 will dip downwardly while the end 112 thereof risesduring a left hand turn. This causes the tubular member 40 and the shank38 to tend to rotate in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed inFIGURE 4, thereby causing the front wheel 22 to lean inwardly in thedirection of the turn approximately 10 degrees to the position shown inFIGURE 4. Since the body 14 is rigidly connected to the tubular member40, it will tilt to the approximate position shown in FIGURE 4 by virtueof the rotation of the tubular rnem ber 4-0. Thus, the vehicle 10 notonly banks during a turn, but also leans into the turn therebyminimizing the tendency of the vehicle 10 to swing outwardly bycentrifugal force. The center of gravity of the rider in the seat 52raises as shown in FIGURE 19.

Referring now to FIGURES 6-9, a toy vehicle constituting a secondembodiment of the present invention, generally designated 210, includesa chassis 212 and a body assembly 214. The chassis 212 includes a frontwheel assembly 216, a rear wheel assembly 218 and a steer mechanism 220.The chassis 212 also includes a frame member 240 having depending,parallel, spaced apart sidewalls 242 at its forward end and a top wall244 which is joined to a rear wall 245 by a sloping portion 248. Thedepending walls 242 extend from the front to the rear and down the backwall of the frame 240 which also has a bottom wall 250.

The front wheel assembly 216 includes a pedal-driven wheel 222 which isrotatably mounted between the arms 224 of a fork assembly 226 by apedal-driven crank 228. The crank 228 includes oppositely disposed crankarms 230 and 232 having pedals 234 and 236, respectively, rotatablymounted thereon. The fork assembly 226 is connected to the frame 240 bysuitable bolt 251 which For example, when the vehicle.

6 connect each of the arms 224 to an associated depending flange 242.

The rear wheel assembly 218 includes a rear axle 246 which has wheels280 and 281 rotatably mounted on the ends thereof and which is pivotallyconnected to the frame 240 by a pivot pin 276. The upper portion of thepivot pin 276 passes through a bushing 278 and the sloping portion 248to top wall 244 and is retained in position by suitable retaining means280. The lower portion of the pin 276 passes through the axle 246 on asteering lever 282 which is rigidly afiixed to the axle 246. The axle246 is prevented from becoming disengaged from the pin 276 by a suitablenut 284 which threadedly engages the lower end of the pin 276 and bearsagainst the steering lever 282. The steering lever 282 includes a saddleportion 286 extending rearwardly and upwardly from the axle 246. A camfollower 288 is rotatably mounted in the saddle 286 on a pin 290 whichengages apertures 292 provided in the saddle 286 and the axle 246,respectively. The cam follower 288 extends through an opening 294provided in the saddle 286 and engages [a cam 300 which is rigidlyafiixed to the bottom wall 250 on frame 240. The cam follower 288 isnormally seated in an arcuate portion 302 provided on the cam 300, butis free to swing with the axle 246 as it pivots about the pin 276 sothat the cam follower 288 will engage the depending portions 304provided on each side of the arcuate portion 302. This causes the frame240 to rise while it is simultaneously tilting by virtue of the obliquemounting of pivot pin 276.

The steering lever 282 forms part of the steering mechanism 220 andincludes a journal box 366 in which a steering knuckle 388 is journaled.The steering knuckle 308 is afiixed to one end 318 of a steering controllever 312 which also forms a part of the steering mechanism 220. Thesteering control lever 312 is rotatably connected to the frame 240 by abushing 314 and may be swung from a vertical or central position in afirst direction to cause the vehicle 210 to negotiate a left hand turnor the control lever 312 may be swung in a second direction to cause thevehicle 210 to negotiate a right hand turn. Swinging the control lever312 causes the axle 246 to pivot on the pin 2'76 bringing the camfollower 288 into engagement with one of the portions 304 causing theframe 240 to rise. Simultaneously, the axle 246 is caused to tilt by theangle of pin 276. Since the fork assembly 226 is rigidly afiixed to theframe 240, tilting of the frame in the manner described causes the frontwheel 222 to lean over in the direction of the turn, as shown in FIGURE9. Raising the frame 240 raises the center of gravity of the driver ofthe vehicle 210. This biases the control lever 312 to an upright orcentral position minimizing the force required to resume steer-ing thevehicle 210 on a straight course.

The body 214 includes a front fender 316 which serves as a mud guard forthe wheel 222. The body 214 also includes a seat 252 which is rigidlyaffixed to the frame 240 in such a manner that the seat will rise andtilt with the frame during negotiation of turns. Thus, there is asimulation of the banking of an aircraft as the wheel 222 and the seat252 lean in the direction of a turn.

The embodiment of the present invention which is shown in FIGURES 1018and which is generally designated 410 is a modification of theembodiment shown in FIGURES 1-5. The vehicle 410 is designed for theaverage child from ages 3-7 years old including deviations from themeans. Thus, the vehicle 410 will also fit the average 8 year old child.The center of gravity of the vehicle 410 and of a rider in positionthereon has been lowered approximately one inch in modifying the FIG-URES l-S embodiment. The 10 degree banking has been retained because achild testing program indicated that, although banking from 812 degreeswas satisfactory, a child could handle the vehicle 410 better if it wasbanked approximately 10 degrees. The Wheel base of the vehicle 410issuchthat more weight of the rider of the vehicle is placed on thefront wheel than over the rear wheels. Thus, the child rider ispreferably positioned near the front wheel. The vehicle 419 is alsodesigned in such a manner that the largest child can negotiate an 11degree incline without causing the vehicle 410 to rear over backwards.

The vehicle 410 includes a chassis 412 and a body 414. The chassis 412comprises a front wheel assembly 416, a rear wheel assembly 418 and asteering mechanism 420. The front wheel assembly 416 includes a pedaldriven wheel 422 which is rotatably mounted between the arms 424- of afront fork assembly 426 on a crank assembly 428. The crank assembly 423propels the vehicle 410* by rotating the wheel 422 when oppositelydisposed crank arms 430 and 432 are actuated through the medium ofrotatably mounted pedals 434 and 436, respectively.

Although, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the vehicle410 may be made of a number of diiferent materials by a number ofdifferent manufacturing techniques, it is shown herein for purposes ofillustration, but not of limitation, as being made primarily of sheetmetal by metal stamping techniques. Thus, the front fork assembly 426 isformed integrally with a chassis frame 440 from a single sheet of metal.With this arrangement, any tilting of the chassis frame 44f from ahorizontal plane will cause a corresponding tilting of the front wheel422 from a vertical plane. The frame 449 includes a top Wall M2 having afirst raised portion 444 forming a seatreceiving island and a secondraised portion 446 forming a seat guide. The first raised portion 444includes a plurality of seat-adjusting apertures 448 for positioning aseat, to be hereinafter described, in such a manner that a rider of thevehicle 416 is properly positioned with respect to the pedals 434 and436. The frame 440 also includes a pair of depending side walls 450 andan end wall 452 and is given rigidity and strength by forming inturnedflanges 4-54 on the lower ends of the side walls 450 and the end wall452. A plate 455 may be aflixed to the flanges 545 by screws 455a tofurther strength frame 440. The end wall 452 serves as a rear axle meansand slopes down wardly and inwardly toward the front wheel 422 formingan angle of approximately 19 degrees with a vertical line. The wall ofaxle 452 includs a first outboard end 456 and a second outboard end 458each of which is provided with a cylindrical, kingpin-receivingpassageway 469 (FIGURE 12). The passageways 46B slope downwardly andoutwardly approximately 19 degrees from the vertical as well as slopingdownwardly and inwardly toward the front wheel 422 19 degrees.

The body assembly 414 includes a bucket type seat 452 and a front fenderassembly 464. The front fender 464 includes a top wall 465 and dependingside and rear walls 4-68 and 476, respectively, which fit within anopening 472 provided in the top wall 440. The lower ends 474 of the sidewalls 463 are each provided with an outwardly turned flange 476 whichrigidly affixes the fender 464 to an associated flange 454 on the sidewalls 450 (FIGURE 16). The seat 462 includes a bottom wall 473 fromwhich suitable bolts 4% depend (FIGURE 12) for adjustably mounting theseat 462 on top wall 44-0 by engaging suitable apertures 448. The seat462 may be secured in posi tion on the top wall 446 by threadedlyengaging the bolts 4%!) with suitable wing nuts 482. The seat 462 alsoin cludes a suitable back rest 484 and outwardly extending members 486and 488 forming mudguards over the rear wheel assembly 418 and has aseat belt 489 rigidly afl'ixed thereto.

The rear wheel assembly 418 includes a first king pin 494) whichswingably connects a first wheel-carrying spindle 492 to the end 456 ofthe wall or axle 452 by passing through a passageway 469. The wheelassembly 413 also includes a second king pin 494 which swingablyconnects a second wheel-carrying spindle 496 to the end 458 of the axle452 by passing through an associated passageway 460. The spindles 492and 496 may be conveniently made of stamped sheet metal construction andeach includes an outboard end 498 and an inboard end 500. Each of theoutboard ends 498 include an axle 502 on which a wheel 504 is rotatablymounted (FIGURE ll). The axles 562, are disposed at a lower elevationthan the end wall 452 so that the spindles 496 and 492 slope upwardlyand inwardly from their outboard ends 498 to their inboard ends 500. Theinboard ends 5% are bifurcated having an upper arm 5% and a lower arm598 which are each provided with an aperture 510 through which anassociated king pin passes. The lower arms 508 include steering arms 512which extend substantially at right angles thereto and which areprovided with apertures 514 at their free ends 516.

The steering mechanism 420 simulates the control of an aircraft andincludes a joy stick 518 having an upper end 529 and a lower end 522.The upper end 520 is provided with a grip 524 and the lower end 522extends through an elongated aperture 526 provided in the top wall 440into seating engagement with a pocket 528 provided in a steering rod530. The steering rod 530 may be conveniently made from sheet metal bybending it to the approximate cross-section shown in FIGURE 17 whileforming substantially cylindrical portions 532 and 534 at its forwardand aft ends, respectively. The rod 530 is rotatably mounted in thevehicle 410 by journaling the end 532 in a bracket 536 which dependsfrom the top wall 440 and by journaling the end 534 in a bracket 538which is aflixed to the rear wall 452. The aft end 534 of the steeringrod 53! includes a depending bracket 540 which is provided with a pairof apertures 542.

The steering mechanism 42% is connected to the rear wheel assembly 418by a pair of steering links 544- each of which has a first hooked end546 engaging one of the apertures 542 in the bracket 540 and a secondhooked end 546 engaging an aperture 514 in a steering arm 516. Thelength of each steering link 544 is such that, when combined with thegeometry of the spindles 492 and 496, the rear wheels 504 will beproperly oriented at all times. When the joy stick 518 is swung to theleft, as viewed in FIGURE 11, as far as it will go, the spindle 496 willswing the right rear wheel 504 approximately /2 degrees aft while thespindle 492 swings the left rear wheel 504 approximately 56 degreesforward to the positions shown in broken lines in FIGURE 14.Simultaneously, the frame 449, the seat 462 and the wheel 422 will tiltwith the outboard end of the seat 462 rising approximately 10 degreeswhile the inboard end thereof lowers approximately 10 degrees. Thus, thevehicle 410 will bank ap proximately 10 degrees from the horizontal sothat a rider comes to rest with a line through his center of gravityforming 10 degrees with his center line. The center of gravity of therider raises approximately 3 4 to A of an inch, as indicateddiagrammatically in FIGURE 19, where it willbe noted that in certainprior art velocipedes the center of gravity of a rider would be loweredM4 to of an inch. With the rear wheels 504 swung to the position shownin broken lines in FIGURES 14, the vehicle 410 is ready for negotiatinga left hand turn wherein a line passing through the axes of the wheels422 and 504 will meet at a common point 550, the inboard wheel 504,which is carried by spindle 492, leans 3 degrees away from the vehicle419 and the outboard wheel 504, which is carried by spindle 496, leans15 degrees toward the vehicle 419.

Of course, it is apparent that the joy stick 518 may be swung to theright, as viewed in FIGURE 11, to negotiate a right hand turn whereuponthe broken line position of thewheels 422 and 584 will be reversed fromthat shown in FIGURE 14.

During turning maneuvers, one rear wheel swings forwardly and upwardlywhile the other rear wheel swings rearwardly and downwardly to tilt thevehicle 410 and to raise the center of gravity of the rider. Both ofthese features are brought about by the oblique king-pin angle employedin the structure hereinbefore described.

While the particular toy vehicles herein shown and described in detailare fully capable of attaining the objects and providing the advantageshereinbefore stated, it is to be understood that they are merelyillustrative of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention andthat no limitations are intended to the details of construction ordesign herein shown other than as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A toy vehicle comprising:

a sheet metal frame having a fork assembly and a depending rear wall,said rear wall sloping downwardly and inwardly toward said front forkassembly and having first and second outboard ends;

a pedal-driven wheel rotatably mounted in said front fork assembly forpropelling said vehicle; and

steering means including a wheel-carrying spindle swingably connected toeach of said outboard ends.

2. A toy vehicle as stated in claim 1 including a king pin connectingeach of said spindles to its associated outboard end, said king pinsforming a predetermined angle with a vertical line in two planes.

3. A vehicle as stated in claim 2 wherein said predetermined angle isapproximately 19 degrees.

4. A vehicle as stated in claim 2 wherein said spindles extendrearwardly of said rear wall and wherein one of said spindles swingsforwardly and upwardly while the other of said spindles swingsrearwardly and downwardly when said steering means is actuated to steersaid vehicle around corners.

5. A vehicle comprising:

a front wheel assembly having a pedal driven wheel;

a rear wheel assembly including a pair of steerable wheels;

a steering mechanism connected to said rear wheel assembly for steeringsaid steerable wheels;

frame means connecting said front wheel assembly to rear wheel assembly;and

means connecting said frame means to said steering mechanism in such amanner that actuation of said steering mechanism to negotiate a cornercauses said frame means and said front wheel to lean in the direction ofthe turn while said connecting means simultaneously raises the center ofgravity of a rider in position on said frame means, said connectingmeans comprising a cam and cam follower arrangement.

6. A velocipede comprising:

a chassis;

a pedal driven wheel rotatably mounted on one end of said chassis;

a steerable wheel rotatably mounted on the other end of said chassis;

a steering mechanism connected to said steerable wheel for steeringsame; and

means connecting said steering mechanism to said chassis in such amanner that said steering mechanism is biased to a central position,said connecting means comprising a cam mounted on said chassis inengagement with a cam follower connected to said steering mechanism.

7. A toy vehicle comprising:

a frame;

a front wheel assembly including a rotatably-mounted, pedal-driven wheelrigidly connected to said frame;

a rear axle assembly pivotally connected to said frame;

a pair of rear wheels rotatably mounted on said rear axle assembly;

a steering lever means swinga-ble about a fore-and-aft axis andconnected to said rear axle assembly for swinging said rear axleassembly about its pivotal connection with said frame; and

a cam means carried by said steering lever means, said cam means beingengageable with said frame to raise said frame when said steering levermeans is swung about said axis.

8. A toy vehicle comprising:

a fork assembly having shank means and a pair of spaced-apart parallelarms extending from said shank means, said fork assembly having a majoraxis lying in a substantially horizontal plane;

a 'ped-aldriven wheel rotatably mounted between said arms;

an axle having first and second ends, the end of said shank means whichis remote from said arms being affixed to said axle intermediate saidends;

a king pin rotatably connected to each end of said axle, said king pinsforming a predetermined angle with a vertical line in two planes;

a rear wheel swingably connected to each of said king pins;

a steering lever rotatably mounted on said shank means;

linkage means connecting said steering lever to said swingable wheels;and

a seat member affixed to said shank means in such a manner that torquetransmitted to said shank means by tilting of said axle results in atilting of said seat member, said axle being caused to tilt apredetermined amount when said vehicle is turned by the location andarrangement of said king pins.

9. A toy vehicle as stated in claim 8 wherein said predetermined angleis approximately 19 degrees.

-i10. A toy vehicle as stated in claim 8 including U- shaped steeringarms swingably connecting said wheels to said king pins, said steeringarms co-acting with said king pins to cause the major axis of said rearaxle to tilt approximately 10 degrees from the horizontal when saidsteering lever is actuated to cause said vehicle to negotiate a corner,said front wheel and said rear wheels turning about a common pivot pointduring negotiation of said corner.

11. A toy vehicle, comprising: steerable wheel means including a pair ofsteerable wheels; means for steering said wheels; and means for biasingsaid steering means to a central position; said biasing means includingmeans for raising the center of gravity of a rider on said vehicle whensaid steering means is moved away from said central position, wherebythe weight of said rider biases said steering means back to said centralposition, said means for raising said center of gravity includingswingably mounted axle means for turning said steerable wheels and cammeans connected to said axle means, said vehicle including seat meansfor said rider, said cam means engaging said seat means for elevatingsaid seat means when said axle means is swung to turn said wheels.

12. A vehicle as stated in claim 11 wherein said axle means is swingablymounted on an oblique pivot pin.

13. A toy vehicle, comprising: steerable wheel means, including a pairof steerable wheels; means for steering said wheel means; and means forbiasing said steering means to a central position, said biasing meansincluding means for raising the center of gravity of a rider on saidvehicle when said steering means is moved away from said centralposition, whereby the weight of said rider biases said steering meansback to said central position, said means for raising said center ofgravity including axle means and king pin means connecting saidsteerable wheel means to said axle means in such a manner that one ofsaid wheels swings forwardly and upwardly while the other of said wheelsswings rearwardly and downwardly during a steering maneuver, saidsteering means also including swingable lever and linkage meansconnecting said king pin means to said lever, whereby said wheels may beturned by swinging said lever, said steerable wheels comprising rearwheels and wherein said vehicle includes a single, pedal-driven frontwheel; said 1 l 112 vehicle including a sheet metal frame and said axle1,283,942 11/ 1918 Spanovic 280-469 means comprising the rear wall ofsaid frame. 1,550,133 8/1925 Whitehall 280267 14. A vehicle as stated inclaim 13 wherein said vehicle 1,784,875 12/ 1930 Iesswein 280-268includes a T-shaped tubular frame and said axle means 1,845,044 2/ 1932Curry 280-269 comprises the cross-bar of said frame. 5 2,755,095 7/1956Douglas 61 al. 2301-1 2,764,423 9/ 1956 Gaddie 286-269 References Citedby in Examiner 2,983,522 5/1961 Kirk 230 267 UNITED STATES PATENTS87,713 3/ 1869 Sermll 280-267 KENNETH H. BETTS, Primal Examiner.

455,220 6/1891 1 Lessells 28O-258

1. A TOY VEHICLE COMPRISING: A SHEET METAL FRAME HAVING A FORK ASSEMBLYAND A DEPENDING REAR WALL, SAID REAR WALL SLOPING DOWNWARDLY ANDINWARDLY TOWARD SAID FRONT FORK ASSEMBLY AND HAVING FIRST AND SECONDOUTBOARD ENDS; A PEDAL-DRIVEN WHEEL ROTATABLY MOUNTED IN SAID FRONT FORKASSEMBLY FOR PROPELLING SAID VEHICLE; AND STEERING MEANS INCLUDING AWHEEL-CARRYING SPINDLE SWINGABLY CONNECTED TO EACH OF SAID OUTBOARDENDS.